So whoever argues with you from among the Christians concerning him, concerning Jesus, after what has come to you of knowledge, meaning of the clear signs that necessitate knowledge, come, let us come together. The intended meaning is to come with opinion and determination, as we say, let us come and think about this matter. Let each of us invite his children and your children, meaning let each of us invite his children, his women, and himself to the invocation of mutual cursing. Then we will invoke, then we will curse, by saying, 'The curse of Allah be upon the liar among us and among you.' The term 'cursing' can be pronounced with an open or a closed vowel: it means the curse. And to curse someone is to distance him from Allah's mercy, as in the saying 'I cursed him' when he is neglected. And a camel that is 'bahel' means it is insisted upon. The origin of 'invocation' is this, and it has been used in every supplication in which one strives, even if it is not mutual cursing. It has been narrated that when he invited them to the mutual cursing, they said: 'Let us return and consider.' When they conferred, they said to the chief of them, who was their advisor: 'O servant of the Messiah, what do you think?' He said: 'By Allah, you know, O assembly of Christians, that Muhammad is a sent prophet, and he has come to you with the decisive truth regarding your companion. By Allah, a people have never invoked mutual cursing against a prophet and lived; their elders did not survive, nor did their young ones grow. If you do so, you will surely perish. If you refuse except to cling to your religion and remain upon what you are upon, then make peace with the man and return to your land.' So the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, came while he was holding Al-Husayn and taking the hand of Al-Hasan, and Fatimah was walking behind him, and Ali was behind her, saying: 'When I call, say Amen.' Then the bishop of Najran said: 'O assembly of Christians, I see faces that if Allah willed, He could remove a mountain from its place with them. So do not invoke mutual cursing, lest you perish, and no Christian remains on the face of the earth until the Day of Resurrection.' They said: 'O Abu Al-Qasim, we see that we should not invoke mutual cursing and that we should affirm you in your religion and remain firm in our religion.' He said: 'If you refuse the mutual cursing, then submit, and you will have what the Muslims have, and upon you will be what is upon them.' But they refused. He said: 'Then I will challenge you.' They said:

We do not have the strength for war against the Arabs, but we will make peace with you on the condition that you do not invade us, nor frighten us, nor turn us away from our religion, in return for which we will give you every year two thousand garments: one thousand in Safar and one thousand in Rajab, and thirty ordinary iron shields. So he made peace with them on that. [It was narrated by Abu Na'im in Dalail al-Nubuwwah, from the route of Muhammad ibn Marwan al-Suddi from al-Kalbi from Abu Salih from Ibn Abbas in full, and Ibn Marwan is abandoned and accused of lying. Then Abu Na'im narrated something similar from al-Shabi as a disconnected narration, and in it, 'If you refuse the mutual cursing, then embrace Islam, and you will have what the Muslims have, and upon you is what is upon them. If you refuse, then give us the jizyah, as Allah, the Exalted, said.' They said, 'We own nothing but ourselves.' He said, 'If you refuse, then I announce to you on equal terms.' They said, 'We have no strength for war against the Arabs, but we will pay the jizyah.' So he imposed upon them every year two thousand garments: one thousand in Safar and one thousand in Rajab. The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said, 'The bearer of glad tidings has come to me of the destruction of the people of Najran if they had continued with the mutual cursing.' It was narrated by al-Tabari from the route of Abu Ishaq, who narrated to me Muhammad ibn Ja'far ibn al-Zubair regarding His saying: (Indeed, this is the true narrative) and he mentioned it as a disconnected narration. In the Sunan of Abu Dawood from the hadith of Ibn Abbas, 'The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, made peace with the people of Najran for two thousand garments, half in Safar and the rest in Rajab, which they would deliver to the Muslims, and thirty shields and thirty horses and thirty camels, and thirty of each type of weapon with which they would fight, and the Muslims are responsible for them until they return them to them.' This is part of this story.] And he said, 'By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, destruction has indeed hung over the people of Najran, and if they had engaged in mutual cursing, they would have been transformed into monkeys and pigs, and the valley would have been set ablaze with fire, and Allah would have uprooted Najran and its people until the birds are on the tops of the trees, and a year would not pass over all the Christians until they are destroyed.' And from Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, came out wearing a black woolen cloak. Then al-Hasan came and he brought him in, then al-Husayn came and he brought him in, then Fatimah, then Ali, and then he said: [It was narrated by Muslim from the route of Safiyyah bint Shaybah from her. Al-Hakim overlooked this and corrected it.] (Indeed, Allah intends to remove the impurity from you, O people of the Prophet's household.) If you say, 'Was his call to mutual cursing only to distinguish the liar from his opponent, and that is a matter that pertains to him and the one who lies against him? What is the meaning of including the children and women?' I say: This emphasizes the indication of his confidence in his situation and his certainty in his truthfulness, as he dared to expose his dearest ones and the most beloved of people to him. [The phrase 'and the most beloved of people to him' in the authentic texts refers to the most cherished ones. The plural is 'the most beloved.' The beloved is a piece of the liver, meat, wealth, and others, and the plural is 'the beloved.' So reflect.] And he did not limit himself to exposing himself to it, and he trusted in the falsehood of his opponent to the extent that his opponent would perish along with his loved ones and dearest ones in a total destruction if the mutual cursing had been completed. He specifically mentioned the children and women because they are the most beloved of family and closest to the hearts, and perhaps a man would sacrifice himself for them and fight for them until he is killed. Hence, they would bring their women with them in wars to prevent them from fleeing, and they would call those who protect them with their souls the defenders of the truths. He mentioned them before the souls to highlight their gentle position and close status, and to indicate that they are prioritized over the souls and are sacrificed for them. In this, there is a proof stronger than anything else regarding the virtue of the People of the Cloak, peace be upon them. And there is clear evidence of the truth of the Prophethood of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, as no one from either side has narrated that they responded to that.